By the Kent Event Centre Events Team. Written from the Kent Showground at Detling, near Maidstone, a 200 acre site owned by the Kent County Agricultural Society, which has been running livestock and equine classes at the Kent County Show since 1923 and hosts canine, equine and fishkeeping events across the calendar, including Paws in the Park and the All England Koi Show.
Quick answer
A venue for a dog show, horse show or country show in Kent needs four things that a normal event space does not: enough separated ground to keep animals apart when they are queuing, warming up and leaving a ring, a surface that will still be safe if it rains for two days, vehicle access right up to the rings so exhibitors are not walking animals through crowds, and the tolerance for a build up and break down that runs either side of the public day.
Licensing sits with three different bodies depending on what you are running. The Royal Kennel Club licenses dog shows. Your local authority licenses the exhibition of animals as a business. Defra rules govern livestock movement. The venue does not issue any of these, but a venue that has hosted animal events before will know what you are going to be asked for.
Book 9 to 12 months ahead for a summer weekend. The good outdoor dates in Kent go first.
What counts as an animal event venue?
Most venue directories treat this as one category. In practice there are three, and they are not interchangeable.
A field with permission. Cheap, and fine for a small companion dog show attached to a village fete. No hard standing, no permanent power, no permanent toilets, and no wet weather plan. If the ground goes, the event goes.
A riding centre or equestrian centre. Purpose built arenas, good surfaces, often affiliated to a governing body. Excellent for the competition itself, usually limited on trade stands, crowd capacity and parking, and rarely set up to run a public spectator event alongside the classes.
A showground. A permanent event site with rings, roads, power, water, welfare and parking already in the ground. Higher day rate, far lower cost of temporary infrastructure, and the only one of the three that comfortably handles competition, trade stands and a paying public at the same time.
The right answer depends on whether your event is a competition that the public may watch, or a public day out that happens to have competition in it. Those are different events with different site plans.
What licences does a dog show or animal event actually need?
This is where most first time organisers lose time. Here is what applies to what.
| Event type | Who licenses it | Typical cost and lead time | The thing people miss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Companion (charity) dog show | Royal Kennel Club | £10 licence fee. Regulations state 42 days before the show date, though the RKC aims to issue within about two weeks | You must get written agreement from the charity or cause first and upload it with the application. The RKC cannot issue the licence without it. You must also schedule some pedigree classes |
| Open or championship dog show | Royal Kennel Club, through your registered club profile | Dates applied for online, well over a year ahead for popular weekends | A new society wanting an open show in its third year of registration has to justify it with past entry numbers |
| Agility, obedience, rally, working trials | Royal Kennel Club, under the relevant discipline regulations | Varies by discipline | Ring and equipment rules are discipline specific, not generic |
| Exhibiting animals to the public as a business | Your local authority, under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 | Local authority fee, allow several weeks | Applies to keeping or training animals for exhibition for education or entertainment in the course of a business. Requires valid public liability insurance and suitable temporary accommodation for the animals at every venue where they are exhibited |
| Affiliated showjumping or dressage | The relevant governing body, for example British Showjumping | Membership plus show affiliation | The show organiser must be a current member before the show can be affiliated, and affiliated classes must be officiated by listed officials |
| Cattle, sheep or goat classes | Defra movement rules, via your county trading standards | No fee, but plan the dates | Livestock moving onto a holding triggers a six day standstill on cattle, sheep, goats and pigs already there, counted from the day after arrival. That can quietly wreck an exhibitor’s calendar |
| Alcohol, live music or late finishes | Your local council, under the Licensing Act 2003 | A Temporary Event Notice, or use of the venue’s own premises licence | Covered in more detail in our guide to outdoor event space hire in Kent |
Two points worth stating plainly, because they catch people out.
First, a venue’s premises licence does not cover your animal licensing. Those are separate regimes and the responsibility sits with the event organiser.
Second, if your event is large enough to need a Safety Advisory Group, the clock on that starts much earlier than the clock on your animal licences. In Maidstone borough, where the Kent Showground sits, that means engaging the council well ahead of the season.
Rings, ground and the things that decide whether the day works
The Royal Kennel Club’s regulations are unusually specific about the physical layout of a show, and for good reason. A few of the rules that drive your site plan:
- Each ring must be enclosed by ropes or other suitable means.
- Cages, pens, grooming tables and trolleys are not permitted at the ringside, and gangways must not be obstructed.
- Organisers are expected to minimise the potential for dog on dog contact, for example by giving dogs adequate physical space to exit a ring after competing, and while warming up or queuing.
- An exhibitor’s duty to keep a dog under proper control extends beyond the rings to the car and caravan parks and the approaches to the venue.
- Electronic shock collars are not permitted at any event licensed by the Royal Kennel Club.
Read those together and the space requirement is larger than most people budget for. A ring is not just the ring. It is the ring, a roped exit route, a warm up area, a queuing area, a gangway that stays clear, and enough distance to the next ring that two lots of dogs are never funnelled into each other.
For equestrian, plan a full size outdoor jumping arena at roughly 60m by 30m and check the current governing body rules for your specific classes, then add warm up, collecting ring, lorry park and a turning circle that a 7.5 tonne horsebox can actually use.
Rough space planning
| Element | Working allowance |
|---|---|
| Dog show ring, including exit, warm up and gangway | 25m x 25m per ring as a minimum working footprint |
| Outdoor jumping arena plus warm up | Around 100m x 60m combined |
| Trade stand row | 3m depth per stand plus a 4m to 6m public aisle |
| Exhibitor and competitor parking | One space per entry, plus lorry and trailer parking at roughly four car spaces per horsebox |
| Public parking | One space per two and a half to three visitors, on ground that will still work wet |
Grass, hard standing or indoor?
Grass is right for the competition itself. It is kinder on joints and it is what most exhibitors expect. It is also the first thing to fail in a wet week.
Hard standing is right for everything that has wheels or crowds: trade stands, catering, welfare, parking spines and the routes between them. A site with permanent concrete roads through it will run an event in weather that would close a field.
Indoor is the wet weather plan, and it is the difference between postponing and carrying on. If your event sells tickets, an indoor fallback is not a luxury, it is the insurance policy on the gate.
The practical answer for most animal events is all three on one site, which is exactly what a showground gives you and a field does not.
What organisers most often get wrong
Underestimating build up. Animal events need rings pegged, ropes run, pens built and trade stands in before a single visitor arrives. That is usually a full day, sometimes two. If the venue only sells you the public day, you are paying for a day you cannot use properly.
Parking exhibitors where the public parks. Exhibitors arrive early, leave late, and need to get an animal from a vehicle to a ring without crossing a crowd. Separate the two or spend the day managing conflict.
Forgetting water and shade. Summer shows are the norm and heat is the single biggest welfare risk. Water points near the rings and shaded holding areas are not optional.
Leaving the weather plan to the week of the event. By then you have no indoor space, no extra trackway and no ground crew.
Treating parking as an afterthought. For any ticketed animal event, parking capacity is your real capacity. It is also, on a wet October Saturday, the thing that decides whether cars get off the site at all.
For the wider version of this thinking across all large events, see our guide to 7 things to consider before booking a large event venue in Kent.
Why a working showground suits animal events
The Kent Event Centre sits on the Kent Showground at Detling, just off the A249 near Maidstone. It is a 200 acre site that has been an event site for over 50 years, owned by the Kent County Agricultural Society, a charity that has supported farming in Kent since 1923.
That history matters commercially, because the infrastructure an animal event needs was built into the ground decades ago rather than hired in each time:
- 200 acres of outdoor space, enough to run multiple rings, a main arena, trade stands, camping and parking without any of them touching.
- Concrete road infrastructure throughout, so trade stands, catering and public routes stay usable in weather that closes grass sites.
- Three large halls as a wet weather plan. The Brachers Building is 3,000 sqm at 73m by 42m, with a 6m ceiling and 5m cargo doors, and the John Hendry Pavilion adds a further 1,752 sqm, linked by a permanent walkway.
- Ramp access to every exhibition hall, which matters for trolleys, pens and equipment as much as for accessibility.
- Experience of the audience. The site hosts Paws in the Park each September, the All England Koi Show staged by the South East Koi Club, and livestock and equine classes at the Kent County Show every July.
- Dogs on leads are welcome in the outside areas as standard, subject to the individual event.
If you want to see how the site handles a public animal event before you commit, come and walk it on a show day. Details of upcoming events are on what’s on at Detling Showground, and practical arrival information is on the visiting page.
If your event is more trade stand than ring, our guide to exhibition venues in Kent covers hall selection in more depth.
Ready to talk dates?
Summer and early autumn weekends at Detling are typically committed 9 to 12 months ahead. If you are planning a dog show, horse show, country show or any other animal event in Kent, the quickest route is a conversation about ground, rings and build up before you fix a date.
Enquire about outdoor space at the Kent Event Centre or contact the events team. You can also call 01622 630975.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a licence to hold a dog show in Kent?
If the show is a charity or companion dog show, yes. It must be licensed by the Royal Kennel Club, which currently charges a £10 licence fee. You need written agreement from the charity or cause before you apply, and the regulations ask for the application 42 days before the show date, although the RKC aims to issue sooner. Separately, if you are keeping or training animals for exhibition in the course of a business, you may also need an animal exhibition licence from your local authority.
How far in advance should I book a venue for a dog show or horse show?
For a summer or early autumn weekend in Kent, 9 to 12 months. Governing body show dates for open and championship level are often fixed further out than that, so secure the venue in parallel with the date application rather than after it.
What size venue do I need for a dog show?
As a working minimum, allow around 25m by 25m per ring once you include the roped exit, warm up area and a clear gangway. Then add trade stands, catering, welfare and parking. A four ring show with 40 trade stands and 2,000 visitors realistically needs several acres, not a single field corner.
Can I run a dog show and a public event on the same site at the same time?
Yes, and it is how most successful animal events work commercially, because trade stands and ticket sales fund the classes. It requires a site large enough to separate competition areas from public circulation, and a venue that can give you both. It is also worth noting that a companion dog show held as part of another Royal Kennel Club licensed event still needs its own separate licence.
What happens if it rains?
On grass only sites, usually postponement. On a site with permanent concrete roads and indoor halls, you move the trade stands and the vulnerable elements under cover and carry on. This is the single biggest reason ticketed animal events choose showgrounds over fields.
Are dogs allowed at the Kent Event Centre?
Well behaved dogs on leads are generally welcome in the outside areas. Guide and hearing dogs are welcome in the meeting and conference rooms, with advance notice so the team can make provisions. Rules can vary by event, so check with the individual event organiser.
Where is the Kent Event Centre?
Kent Showground, Detling, Maidstone, ME14 3JF, just off the A249 and around two miles from junction 7 of the M20. Maidstone East railway station is 4.2 miles away, with trains to London Victoria twice an hour. Note that the site is no longer accessible via Scragged Oak Road.
